Useful Expressions

Various Expressions used in asking for and expressing opinions

Function Expressions

Asking for an opinion What’s your opinion on… Do you have anything to add?

What do you think of… Don’t you think that…

What are your views on …

Giving opinions I believe that.. From my point of view ..

I am certain that.. In my opinion..

I must say.. I think that…

It is quite clear that.. I would say that …

I maintain that .. It seems to me that …

I am sure that … I think it would be fair to say that

…
As far as I am concerned ..
I guess..
I suppose . ..

Agreement Disagreement

Complete I totally agree with you Direct I’m sorry, I beg to differ
Agreemen Disagreemen
I see your point of view I absolutely disagree with you
t t
That’s true/right/brilliant I’m sorry but I have to disagree

That’s good/splendid idea I disagree

True. I am glad you say that I am afraid that I don’t agree

Yes, I feel the same way. I agree I don’t think so

Yes, I’m sure you are right I don’t see your point

Absolutely/ Definitely I don’t get it

I couldn’t agree with you more

Yes, I think that is a wonderful idea

 Tentative I agree with you to a point Indirect Are you sure?
Partial Disagreemen
Agreemen I agree with you to a certain extent t I could be wrong but
t I think you are right but I see your point but I think it would be
better if ..
You’ve got a point there but
Really?
Well, perhaps you are right
Oh, I don’t know about that
I agree that….but…
I’m not sure about that
That may be so but
I do not think that is always true
I will take that into considerations because

Some expressions used in making suggestions, recommendations and some possible responses.

Suggestion Positive Yes, that’s a good idea

respons
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to That would be nice
e
Shall we Okay

I think we should
Negative I think that is out of the question
I feel that we should respons
I can foresee problems
Perhaps we could e
I’m not convinced that this will work
Why don’t we
The suggestions will give rise to other problems
What about
I’d rather not
How about
No. I don’t really like the idea
Let’s
No, I really don’t think so
It might be a good idea to

Have you ever thought of

Maybe we should

If I were you, I would

Don’t you think we should

 Recommendation Positive I fully support
respons
I strongly recommend that e I am in favour of

I strongly advise that I totally agree with

I propose that I approve of

I would like to put forward a proposal that I see no objection to that

I would certainly endorse

Negative I am totally opposed to the proposal

respons
e I think that is out of the question

I can foresee problems

I’m not convinced that this will work

This will give rise to other problems

Various expressions that may be used in persuading someone

Persuassive Have you considered I encourage you to

expression Do you realize that I am very sure there is no harm

s
Don’t you think I feel you should

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to I persuade you to

I wonder if you have thought of

Maybe you should consider

It would be in your own interest to

I can assure you that

You have no need to fear

TASK A

You need to organize your speech so that there is a smooth glow of ideas.

INTRODUCTION BODY CONCLUSION

- Introduce topic -Include major points and -Reinstate your opinion

elaborate on them
-Highlight main points of task -Summarize main points of the
-Talk about the most important topic
-Give definition (if any) point first
-Give advice or
-Use transition signals to connect recommendations
ideas

Some expressions you may use when presenting information.

INTRODUCTION

Let me enlighten you on I would like to begin by

Today, I would like to talk on The reason I am here is to talk about

I have been asked to talk on

BODY

I would like to mention briefly To begin with

I would like to comment on The next issue is

There are several points I would like to make Furthermore/Moreover/ In addition

My first point is Let me give you an example

Firstly / First of all Let us consider

CONCLUSION

In general Let me conclude by saying

All in all I would like to conclude by

In a nutshell Finally
MUET SPEAKING PRACTICE

TASK A

· Good morning to the examiners and all my friends.

· Firstly, I would like to suggest …………….

· My main point is ……………….. (explain/give example)

· My next point is ……………….. (explain/give example)

· The next point I would like to make is ……………( “ )

· However / But / Nevertheless …………………. Etc

· I have mentioned earlier that ………………….

· Therefore / Thus / Hence …………………….. etc

· In short …………………………

· Thank you.

· Good morning …………………

· First of all, I propose ………………….

· The most important factor is ………………… (explain/give example)

· Next, let’s look at ……………………………. ( “ )

· Another suggestion is………………………( “ )

· However / But / Nevertheless …………………..etc

· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result …………………….etc

· Those are the suggestions …………..

· Thank you.
C

· Good morning…………..

· As a start, I would like to suggest …………………..

· It is important to …………………………(explain/give example)

· The next issue is ……………………….( “ )

· Another point I would like to emphasize is ……………( “ )

· However / But / Nevertheless …………..

· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….

· In summary, I would suggest ………….

· Thank you.

· Good morning ……….

· I would like to begin by suggesting ………………

· One important reason is ……………….(explain/give example)

· Next, I would like to highlight …………( “ )

· Moving on to my next point, which is ……….. ( “ )

· However / But / Nevertheless …………..

· Therefore / Thus / Hence / As a result ……………….

· As a conclusion, I would say…………..

· Thank you.
Instructions to candidates:
Task A: Individual presentation
 Study the stimulus or topic given.
 You are given two minutes to prepare your responses.
 You are given two minutes to present.
 Listen to the others while they are making their presentations and take down notes for the group
discussion in Task B.
Task B: Group discussion
 You are given two minutes to prepare points to support or oppose the other candidates’ views.
 After you have listened to everyone, try to come to a decision as to which of the four suggestions
is the best.
 Your group is given ten minutes for the discussion.
Task A and Task B will be carried out consecutively.
Situation
Your brother has been given the opportunity to study in England on a government scholarship. You and
your family are very proud of him. Decide on a special gift for him to prepare for his trip abroad.
Task A: Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.
Task B: Discuss which of the following would be most useful.
i. cash
ii. a computer
iii.  some suitable clothing
iv. some Malaysian foodstuff

Candidate A
Task A:  Suggest that they give him cash. Say why.
Good morning to the examiners and my fellow friends. I’m very happy that my brother has just
received a scholarship to study in England. My relatives and I would like to give him a special gift. We
all think that the best gift is money because it will be very useful for him.
The first reason is with cash he can buy the things that he needs when he gets there. There will
me a lot of things that he will need like new books, stationery, clothes and food. He will also need to pay
for transportation like taking the bus or train to go to the university campus. As we know, it is very
expensive in England so any money we give him will be very useful.
Secondly, my brother can use the money to buy a mobile phone when he gets to England. I think
this is very important in case of emergencies so we can contact him easily. Furthermore, he can sms us
and keep us updated with his progress in his studies there. Hence, if we really miss him we can just give
him a call.
Finally, I also think giving him money is the best choice because it is light and doesn’t take up a
lot of space. If we were to give him a computer, books or winter clothes it will be very heavy and bulky
for him to bring to England. Therefore, I think that it is much easier to bring money and buy those things
when he gets there.
In conclusion, these are some of the reasons why I think giving him cash is the best choice. To
me, it is the most useful gift we can give him. Thank you.
Candidate B
Task A:  You suggest that they give him a computer. Say why.
A very good morning I bid to one and all. My relatives and I are very proud of my brother. He has just
received a scholarship to study in England and so we would like to give him a special gift. We believe
that the best present for him is a laptop computer.
Firstly, as a university student, my brother will have to do many assignments. If he has a laptop
computer he can bring it everywhere and consequently, do his work anytime and anywhere. Thus, he
will not have to share the computers at the computer room with other students and he will be able to do
his work more quickly and efficiently.
Another point is that when he boards the plane from KLIA to London, he will be able to bring the laptop
with him easily because it is compact and light compared to a desktop computer. Hence, it will not be
too much trouble to transport it to England.
Last but not least, if he has a laptop he will be able to connect to the internet. This has two main
advantages as firstly, he can do a lot of research online. The world wide web is a fountain of information
so it will be very useful for him to make full use of this technology. Furthermore, he can keep in touch
with friends and family here in Malaysia by e-mail.
In short, a laptop computer will prove to be very useful to my brother. He can do his assignments,
research for information and keep in touch with us using it therefore it will make the best gift. Thank
you for listening.

Candidate C
Task A:  You suggest that they give him some suitable clothing. Say why.
To the examiners and my fellow candidates, a wonderful morning I bid you. My brother was lucky
enough to receive a scholarship to study overseas. We want to send him off with a nice gift so we have
decided to buy him some suitable clothing.
The main purpose for buying him some suitable clothing is because the weather in England is very
different from the weather in our country. There are four seasons there so he will need to have different
clothes for different situations. For example, we can buy him some sweaters, cardigans, scarves,
snowcaps, thick socks and gloves and many more. These will definitely keep him warm in winter.
The second reason is we think that he should have clothes that reflect our Malaysian identity. This is
because he will be a young ambassador for our country so if he has a few sets of traditional clothing like
the Baju Melayu or formal Batik shirts, I am sure he will not only look good but promote our culture
overseas.
Lastly, neat clothes make a good impression. For instance, if we buy him some everyday clothes like
jeans and trousers with nice shirts and matching ties, this will give him a good feeling about himself so
he will walk a bit straighter and talk a bit wiser. Moreover, people will look at him and have a good
impression about Malaysian students.
To conclude, I think that the best present to give him is some suitable clothing because it will be very
useful and will reflect positively on him. Thank you very much.

Candidate D
Task A:  You suggest that they give him some Malaysian foodstuff. Say why.
I would like to wish everyone here a very good morning. As we all know, my brother has won a
scholarship to study in England. Therefore, some relatives and I have decided to give him some
Malaysian foodstuff as a going away present.
First and foremost, one of the main problems Malaysians face when studying overseas is that it is hard
to find Halal food. We feel it is a good idea to give him some Malaysian foodstuff because it will take
time for him to get used to the place and find out where to buy Halal food. Thus, in the meantime he can
enjoy the Malaysian foodstuff that we have given to him.
The next reason is because some of the foodstuff we are used to having here in Malaysia is quite hard to
find in UK. Most students studying overseas really enjoy eating Maggi Mee and sambal belacan. For
instance, it is also hard to find the right spices for curry and rendang and so on so if we supply him with
enough Malaysian foodstuff, he can eat it whenever he misses home.
The final point I have is that he can use the Malaysian foodstuff we give him and cook it for the
Westerners there. Sometimes, universities organise events like Malaysian Night and so he and his
friends can cook some Malaysian specialities for them to taste a bit of our way of life. Hence, the
Malaysian foodstuff will be very useful to promote our culture.
In a nutshell, giving my brother Malaysian foodstuff to take with him to England is a good idea. This is
because he will have some familiar food to eat when he misses home and he can also share it with his
new friends. Thank you for listening to my opinion.

Task B:  Discuss which of the following would be most useful.

i. Cash
ii. A computer
iii.  Some suitable clothing
iv. Some Malaysian foodstuff
* Work together in your respective groups and complete the following discussion.

A: Good morning once again to everyone. We are here to focus on the issue at hand which is
__________________________________________________________. I would like to invite
anyone of you to kickstart this discussion by giving us your point of view.
B: Allow me to begin. First of all, I’m happy that our brother has won the scholarship to study
in England. Therefore, we must decide what would be the most useful gift for him. In my
opinion, I strongly believe that _______________
_________________________________________________________________. This is
because I think he can _________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
For example, ______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
C: I see your point but how about getting him ______________________________. In this way, he can
use it to ___________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
D: I don’t quite agree with you because ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________. I think it
would be more useful if we bought _______________________ for him. Does anyone agree
with me?
A: Yes, I agree with you. To add to your point, I feel that ______________________
_________________________________________________________________.
This is so he will ___________________________________________________.
C: I’m afraid I don’t see eye to eye with both of you. Buying that as a present for him is not the most
useful gift because __________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
Moreover, ________________________________________________________.
Can you all understand what I’m trying to say?
B: Indeed, I do see your point of view but I still feel that the most useful gift is __________________
because it can ___________________________________. Another reason is
___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________. For instance,
_______________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
D: That’s an interesting perspective and I agree with you that ___________________
_________________________________________________________________. However, I
think we should consider other points. We should also think about buying him
_______________________________________________________.
If he gets this as a present, he can ______________________________________ and
____________________________________________. Wouldn’t you agree?
A: I’m not sure I understand what you are saying. Can you explain it again, please.
D: What I mean is we should buy him _____________________________________ because it will me
more useful for him when he is studying in England. This is because
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
A: Aaah… I see. Yes, I think it would be a very useful gift too. This way, he can
_________________________________________________________________.
C: That’s a good point, but don’t you think if we gave him _____________________ it will be the most
useful for him as a student. I still believe that this is the most useful because
_____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
Remember, we need to think of the best and most useful choice.
B: I agree with you, Candidate C. In addition, he can use this gift to _____________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________. So candidates A & D, what do you guys think?
D: Now that you’ve explained it like that, I also agree that it will be the most useful. In fact, he could
also use it to _________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
A: As for me, I feel that it is also the most useful. When he arrives at his university in England, he will
be able to ____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
C: That’s right. Well, after listening to all the points on the four choices we have, I think it is time to
make a conclusion.
D: Yes, I think so too. Does everyone agree that we should give our brother
_______________________________________ as a special going away present?
All: Yes, I agree.
B: In a nutshell, we all agree that _______________________________ is the best choice because
firstly, he can _________________________________________, secondly,
 ________________________________________________ and finally
_________________________________________________________________.
Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What to conclude if after 10 minutes of discussion….
A) AGREE = 3, DISAGREE = 1
Conclusion: To conclude, MOST OF US agree that ______________________
is the best choice because ________________________________.
___________________________________________. Thank you.
B) AGREE = 2, DISAGREE = 2
Conclusion: In conclusion, we were unable to make a solid decision because
SOME OF US stongly believe that the best choice is __________ because
_______________________________________________ while THE REST OF
US think that giving him _______________ is the most useful because
_________________
___________________________________________. Thank you.
C) ALL DISAGREE
Conclusion: In a nutshell, we were unable to come to an agreement on which of the four options
is the best choice. It seems ALL OF US strongly believe in our own points so as
we have run out of time, we think that we should each buy him a gift individually.
Thank you.